The Amazing Honey Bee

Today I cashed in my Christmas present from Hubby and spent nearly eight hours learning about bees. I am now of the opinion that bees are the coolest insect ever. From their five eyes to their pollen basket, they are honey-making machines and hive engineers. The bee truly is an amazing creature. Come May, I will have my first hive in place, my first colony hopefully settling in and building their combs.

I set off early, right at daylight, because of the unexpected snowfall yesterday that left nearly 4 inches of mess. I wanted to be sure to give myself enough time just in case the roads were still iffy. The highway had some icy spots starting off, but the farther I got away from home, the more the roads improved, so I finally relaxed, turned on the radio, and made my way towards Long Lane Honey Bee Farms just outside of Fairmount. The only rough spot I encountered was the road Google Maps told me to take just outside Oakwood. This road hadn't been plowed. This road called for 4-wheel drive. I love my 4-wheel drive. If I'd not had it, I wouldn't have made it to my class.

But I made it, and I along with 11 others learned the in's and out's of beginning beekeeping. I met individuals from Missouri, Indiana, and Arkansas. I handled honeycomb on a frame. I put a hive together. I learned about mites and small hive beetles. The longer the day went on, the more I knew I wanted to bring bees to my very small, urban farm. I want to nurture a colony and watch the magic happen.

Comments

Cathy said…
AH! Richard and I were talking about doing bees as well as our chicken co-op.....
February 17, 2014 at 11:55 AM
JK said…
I have our first hive! They really do seem easy to work with, and I'd love to have more than one hive. We definitely need to talk about this.
February 17, 2014 at 1:39 PM
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